Six in ten people in Ireland are now turning to artificial intelligence (AI) platforms for mental health support, with a third saying that the advice has led to harmful behaviour.<\/p>\n
That is according to new research from Laya Healthcare, part of AXA.<\/p>\n
The AXA Mind Health Report 2026, is a global Ipsos study of 19,000 people across 18 countries, including 1,000 people in Ireland.<\/p>\n
Among people in Ireland using AI platforms for mental health advice, 42% said they almost always follow AI guidance without question, while 39% reported feeling uneasy or concerned after using it.<\/p>\n
The research found that more people in Ireland have used AI for their mental health than have seen a healthcare professional about it.<\/p>\n
Irish people are also more likely than almost anywhere else surveyed to take sick leave for a mental health issue – 33%, against a 24% global average.<\/p>\n
“One in five people in Ireland are struggling with their mental health right now, and six in ten are turning to AI for advice,” said Dr Emelina Ellis, Clinical Lead, Laya Healthcare’s 24\/7 Mental Wellbeing service.<\/p>\n
“As a mental health professional, I see real potential in AI when it is responsibly designed, clinically governed and used safely.”<\/p>\n
“Used well, it can help identify needs earlier, improve access to support and enable more personalised care.”<\/p>\n
“But technology should enhance, not replace, human care. When someone moves from everyday stress to genuine distress, they need more than information,” Dr Ellis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six in ten people in Ireland are now turning to artificial intelligence (AI) platforms for mental health support,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-632981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}